When Vickie Wang, a rising performer, takes the stage in New York, she's not only considering what humor to deliver. She also carefully considers which topics to steer clear of. “I don't engage in directly criticizing the government,” she stated. Or if she does, she makes certain it isn't captured for social media. “I would never publicly share material in which I directly criticize authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, thirty-nine, resided in the Chinese metropolis for almost ten years, departing in that year. In 2025, she relocated to America. Upon arrival, she dove into an intense period of “overindulging on freedom,” going to talks, demonstrations, and exploring New York’s public library.
But in the year after the president was elected for the second time, there has been a “palpable change” in the atmosphere, she says. “Back home, I knew the boundaries, while in the US I find myself on shifting sands.”
Wang’s concerns reflect a new climate in the US which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find eerily familiar. Enemies are ostracised. The president expects absolute loyalty. Reporters face scrutiny. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, China’s authoritarian figure. He has described him as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. Following years of optimism in America that improved relations with the East could assist the growing nation to liberalise, in the current administration, it appears as if the US is shifting in the Chinese direction, rather than vice versa.
“The United States is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The president, Donald Trump, is trying to rally the masses to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to what happened in the country half a century ago.”
Ever since Trump initiated what's termed a government streamlining body, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of young people to execute presidential directives, or cleansing organizations of those deemed opposition, the president from a Chinese viewpoint has brought Mao-style chaos to the US, albeit absent equivalent degrees of force.
But since the turmoil of the early months of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, different kind of political atmosphere has settled in the country, which variously seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.
‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on open expression.
A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in China. Deng resided in the US for several years, having fled the country because of harassment from the authorities.
In September, after the death of Charlie Kirk, Deng tweeted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Like people across the US – many of whom were fired as a result of expressing criticism regarding him – Deng faced a huge backlash. His family had personal info leaked and he was accused of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event surprised me deeply. I hadn't thought that something like this would occur in America – something that should only happen in an authoritarian country,” Deng said.
His backlash came from fellow social media users, instead of the government, but such of social surveillance bears similarities with China.
“In terms of targeting dissenters and starting to surveil open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing here,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at a US university. “This is that you see in China today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in the US of pupils informing against educators, a type of surveillance that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.
The professor, the legal expert, explained that progressive thinkers like himself used to look to America for political inspiration, since openly discussing domestic politics in the country is risky. But now, “America isn't some kind of god for progressive Chinese. America’s image has worsened across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, this lighthouse appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, skeptical about the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than America’s, he stated. “It’s sort of painful to accept this … but after the pandemic, the government seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and developing electric cars and tech investment,” he noted, while “Western nations, exemplified by America, appear declining.”
The government's acquisition of stakes in US companies has also drawn comparisons with the East, where the distinction between government and business is frequently unclear.
On Monday, the US government stated it would become a shareholder in a new company specialising in rare earth processing, after taking similar stakes in additional firms deemed essential for the country's safety. These moves have left certain stakeholders nervous that the US is embarking on a new era of state intervention in the private sector.
There are still major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets including the Guardian declined to agree to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. American judiciary have blocked or overturned many of presidential measures, an action that is unthinkable in the nation's CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, the founder of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, commented: “America might face the worst crisis of all time, far more severe than it is now, and it will still be more free, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were shocked to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled inherently. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “cannot of saying no. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”
Nevertheless, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously outspoken on bilateral matters declined to be interviewed for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
